CEWH’s response to the Move On Orders Select Committee Report

Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawaroa | Be strong, be brave, be steadfast.

It takes courage to stand up for what you believe in, and that courage has been evident in everyone who spoke out against the proposed Move On Orders. With dignity, honesty and often vulnerability, you told your stories, shared your expertise and called for care rather than criminalisation for some of the most vulnerable people in Aotearoa.

The Justice Select Committee recommends raising the age threshold for Move On Orders from 14 to 18 years old. It also recommends changing “begging” to “unreasonable begging”, reducing the fine for non-compliance to $1,000, and limiting when someone can be penalised for returning to a particular area.

These are positive steps.

But these changes don’t address our fundamental concerns with the Bill. 

Move On Orders won’t reduce homelessness; they simply move people from one location to another without addressing the reasons people are experiencing homelessness.

For women experiencing homelessness, displacement risks pushing them further to the margins and making their homelessness even more invisible.

We need to invest in what we know works: safe and affordable housing, strengthened whānau, wraparound support, and Te Tiriti-led, gender-responsive approaches to preventing and ending homelessness.

Moving people on will never end homelessness.

CEWH urges the Government to reject the Bill and prioritise our people: housing, care and long-term solutions over enforcement and displacement.